Setts



(No Modl.) 2 Sheets-Sheet- 1. S..A. WOODS & J. R. THOMAS.

PLANING MACHINE.

No. 418,345. Patented Dec. 31, 1889.

IIVVE/VTOR Nv PETERS. Phololrlhagrapher, Washington. D C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

S. A. WOODS & J. R. THOMAS. PLANING MACHINE.

No. 418,345. Patented Dec. 31, 1889.

INVENTOX? ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SOLOMON A. WOODS AND JOHN R. THOMAS, OF BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS,

ASSIGNORS TO THE S. A. WVOODS MACHINE COMPANY, OF MASSAOHU- SETTS.

PLANlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.418,345, dated December31, 1889.

Application filed October 15, 1888. Serial No. 288,721. (No model.)

T aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SOLOMON A. \VOODS and JOHN R. THOMAS, of Boston, inthe county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Planing-Machines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for planin g lumber; and it consistsin certain new and improved constructions and combinations of theseveral parts thereof, substantially as hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a planing-machineconstructed according to our invention. Fig. 2 is atop plan view of thesame. Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a portion of the same (relating tothe di viding saw or cutter) enlarged to show the details. Fig. 1 is atop plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the same. Figs.6 and 7 are sections across the lumber at two different stages of itsprogress through the machine. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a portion ofthe mechanism for securing the vertical matcher-heads in position, withthe side of the frame in enlarged View. Fig. 9 is a face view of theframe, showing the arrangement of said parts partially in full view andpartially by dotted lines.

The frame-work of the machine 1 is of the ordinary construction, havinga bed or platen over which the lumber is fed.

2 is a side guide adjusted transversely upon the bed of the machine toregulate the same to the breadth of the lumber being dressed by means ofscrews 3 3 in the ordinary manner.

4 4 is the divided feed-roll at the feed-in end of the machine, helddown by leversand weights 5 5 to feed the lumber forward in conjunctionwith the lower feed-roll 6.

7 is a horizontal shaft mounted and projecting transversely inward abovethe path of the lumber through the machine and provided with acutter-head 8 upon its inner end for forming the upper tongue-groovethrough the central portion of the board preparatory to dividing theboard into two'parts tongued on their inner edges, as hereinafterdescribed.

9 is a horizontal shaft projecting trans- 6, and the lower tongue-groove12 is of the shape shown in cross-section in that figure as they appearin the board 13 after having passed the cutter-heads 8 and 10.-

14 14 are presser-fingers, which hold the board down to the bed as it isbeing acted upon by the tonguing-cutters 8 and 10. These presser-fingersare pivoted at 15, and their upper ends are extended upward and forwardin the shape of arms 16, provided with weights which hold thepresser-fingers down upon the lumber while it is being operated upon.

17 17 are feed-rolls, which feed the lumber forward to the single longplaning cutterhead 18, which serves to dress the upper surface of theboard and remove any burr from the edges of the groove 11 which may havebeen left by the cutter-head 8 in forming it.

The purpose of leaving the two parts of the board with a connectionbetween the partially-formed tongues, as shown in Fig. 6, is to preventthe two parts of the board from closing irregularly together whenpassing the vertical grooving cutter-heads 20 20, as they would do ifthe intervening wood were removed from between the tongues beforereaching these cutter-heads. The vertical grooving-heads 2O 20 form thegrooves 21 21 in the outer edges of the board 13, and they areconstructed in the usual manner and mounted upon vertical spindles forthis purpose. If the board were divided into two parts, as shown inFig.7, before reaching these cutterheads, the irregular closing togetherof the two parts of the board permitted by the removal of the wood frombetween the tongues would cause the grooves 21 21 formed by thecutter-heads 20 20 to be slightly irregular in their depth,corresponding with the varying movements of the two parts of the boardtoward each other when subjected to the sidethrust of these groovingcutter-heads, com- IOC bined with the dip and lifting action of the longplaning-cylinder in advance of these side cutter-heads 2O 20 and theforcing action of the feed-rolls in advance of the long cylinder,

which drive the board forward through the machine; but with the boardinthe stage of formation and division shown in Fig. 6 its two parts 13 13are held in a fixed relation to each other, and the grooves 21 21 aremade absolutely alike in depth throughout the entire length of theboard, thus preventing, when a large number of the boards are laid in afloor, a variation or irregularity in the space a given number of aparticular dimension will cover and saving annoyance to the carpenter.It is evident that as the board passes through the machine ,it is beingsubjected to the action of the feedin rolls, the cutter heads 8 and 10,the long planing-cylinder 18, the ver tical outside groovingheads 20 20,and the saw or cutter 22 at the same time, and the order of successionof the several simultaneous operations they perform, as described,prevents the action of either one of these mechanisms from interferingwith the others while completing the planing and tonguing and groovingof each strip into which the board is divided in a proper manner at asingle passage of the board to be divided and thus prepared through themachine. By tonguing and grooving in a proper manner we mean by a singlepassagethrough the machine, so that the tongue of any one strip willproperly fit the groove of any other strip which is made from the boardat the same operation, and vice versa. In order to accomplish this,it isnecessary that the tongue and its shoulders on the edge of the boardshall be free from slivers and. out perfectly true andsmooth and cutstraight along the edge, and that the groove 011 the opposite edge ofthe same board shall be out exactly parallel with the tongue and of evendepth to receive it, and any imperfection in either of these respectswill render nugatory the perfection in others of the complementarytongue or groove. If, therefore, the cutters of the cutter-heads 8 and10 entirely complete the formation of the tongues on the two strips ofthe divided board by severing and separatingthem as in former machines,the action of the long planing-cylinder in dressing off the slivers madeby cutter-heads 8 and 10, com-- bined with the action of the feed-inrolls, which drive the board forward, will cause the outer edges of thedivided board, as it passes the vertical grooving-heads 20, to move inand out against these heads and so out the grooves in their edgesirregularly and out of parallel with the previously-completed tongues,and so as to not correspond with the latter. Each strip of boardtherefore comes out of the machine imperfectly finished and unfit fornice builders work. This improper action of the vertical grooving-headsupon the divided board 'is partly due to the dip and lift action of thelong planing-cylinder in advance of the former, which tends to lift thedivided board from the bed, and by its irregular strain against harderand softer parts of the wood causes the strips passing under it to presstoward one side or the other of the machine in the space left betweenthe strips of the board by their previous division. By our arrangement,however, this disadvantageous action of the feed-in rolls and longcylinder 18 while completing the finishing of the shoulders of thetongues formed by cutterheads 8 and 10 upon the operation of thevertical grooving-heads 20 is avoided, because, the strips into whichthe board is to be formed not being completely divided when they passunder the long cylinder 18, the strain and lifting action of thatcylinder in dressing off the shoulders of the tongues cannot vary theirforward movement and so interfere with the proper and perfect formationof the grooves by the cutter-heads 20. Hence the removal of thedividing-cutter for the tongues from before the cylinder 18 and placingit after the vertical grooving-cutters20 20 prevents the groovingcutter-heads 8 and 10 and cylinder 18 from interfering with thegrooving-cutters in their operation in forming complementary grooves tothe tongues being simultaneously formed upon the strips of the dividedboard. After the board 13 has passed the vertical cutter-heads 2O 20 itreaches the dividing saw or cutter 22, which cuts out the interveningwood between the partially formedv tongues and completes the tongues 2323, as shown in Fig. 7. The board then passes above the lower longplaning cylinder 21, (shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1,) which is of theordinary construction and mounted upon the horizontal shaft 25, whichdresses the lower surface of the divisions of the board and removes anyburr which may have been formed by the tonguing-cutter 10 in forming thegroove 12. The board is thus completed, and is fed out of the machine bythe feedrollers 26 26, and its two parts have their tongues and grooves21 and 23 perfectly regular and fitting each other as accurately aspossible. The grooving cutter-heads 2O 20 are driven by pulleys upontheir vertical shafts belted to the counter-shaft 27 at the feed-in endof the machine, which is a sufficient distance from the verticalgrooving-cutter-head shafts to allow of the belt being turned topassfrom the horizontal pulley of the counter-shaft to the verticalpulley of the grooving-cutter-head shaft without unduly straining thebelt in operation. By the succession of the tonguing-heads 8 10, longplaning-cylinder 18, vertical grooving-heads 20 20, and saw 22, bringingthe saw after the grooving-heads, the accuracy of the tongues andgrooves and their complete finish Without burrs or splintering of theedges of the board is attained, as before described.

The feed-rolls are driven by the ordinary expansion gearing, which isnot shown, for

IIO

the sake of clearness, and the feed-rolls 17 17 may be omitted withoutaffecting the operation of our invention materially, if desired. Thecutter-heads are driven by pulleys in the ordinary manner belted to thecounter-shaft 27, which is supplied with pulleys 28 28 28 for thatpurpose, and will need no further description to have theiroperationunderstood.

In'order to provide for the proper adj ustment and operation of the saw22, we attach it to the platen 30, whichsupports the lumher over thelower planing-cylinder 24 in the ordinary manner. The platen 3.0 ismounted in standards 31 31, attached to the frame of the machine on eachside of the bed, and is raised up and down by screws and bevelgears(shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2) in the usual way. On the sideof the platen is formed or attached the vertical guidestrip 32, Figs. 3,4, and 5, on which is fitted the plate or block 33 so as to slide up anddown thereon. A nut 34 is attached to the guidestrip 32, and the slidingplate 33 has a shoulder 35 offset on its upper side, so as to overhangthe nut. In the shoulder 35 is j ournaled the screw 36, which passesthrough and engages with the nut 34, and is provided with the hand-wheel37 at its upper end. By revolving the screw 36 the plate or block 33will be adjusted up and down and secured at any desired point. The outerface of the plate 33 is provided with a horizontal groove having itsedges undercut, and in this groove is fitted the inner face of a plate38, so that the undercut edges of the groove hold it in place. The plate38 is provided with an offset or shoulder 39, and a nut 40 is attachedto plate 33.

In the shoulder 39 is journaled the screw 41, which passes through andengages with the nut 40, and is provided with a hand-wheel 42 on itsouter end. By revolving the screw 41 with this hand-wheel the plate 38will therefore be adjusted horizontally in plate 33 and secured in anydesired position. Upon the plate 38 are attached boxes 43 43, whichcarry the horizontal shaft 44, to which the saw 22 is attached atoneend. At the other end a pulley 45 is attached, which extends outside ofthe frame of the machine, and is belted to the pulley 46 upon the shaftof the planing-cylinder 18 by a straight belt. By this construction ofparts the saw 22 can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically tobring it into the proper position to'remove the surplus material betweenthe tongues 23 23 of the board, no matter what the thickness of theboard may be or to what height the platen 30 may beadjusted, while theadj ustment of the platen itself up and down also adjusts the saw withit, and the platen affords a rigid and perfect support for the sawitself.

Figs. 8 and 9 show an auxiliary stop applied to the shaft, by which theyokes of the shafts of the cutter-heads 2O 20 are held in place, so asto prevent the shaft from being turned too far in loosening andadjusting the cutter-heads in their position transversely of themachine. The yokes of the vertical cutter-heads are mounted upon across-bar a extending transversely of the machine, in the mannerdescribed in the Patent No. 388,169, granted to us August 21, 1888, towhich reference may be had for the construction of the parts of themachine not herein shown. The cross-bar a in this instance is maderectangular instead of round, as in that patent.

c is the shaft having the cam 0 by which the yoke is secured to the bara lVhen this shaft 0 is revolved to loosen the yoke from the bar, it isapt to be revolved too far. \Ve therefore attach to the outside of theframe 1 a lug 50, having a screwthreaded hole through it, in which wefit the set-screw 51, and on the shaft 0 we attach the stop-arm 52 insuch a position that its end will come against the end of the set-screwwhen the shaft has been turned far enough to release the yoke from thebar a thus forming an adjustable stop to regulate the turning of theshaft 0, as described.

If it is desired to plane the board upon only one face, the lowerplaning-cylinder 24 may be omitted; but it is necessary when the boardis to be dressed on both faces.

The vertical grooving-heads 20 20 may be provided with throat-blocks forguiding the board between them, like the block 0 de scribed in ourpatent, No. 388,169, before re ferred to.

In case it is desired, the heads 8 and 10 may be removed from theirspindles and the I saw 22 used to divide the board after thegrooving-heads 2O 20, when the lower planingcylinder will remove anyburr or roughness upon the face of the board caused by cutter 22, andthe latter will not, by a previous dividing of the board, interfere withthe accuracy of operation of the grooving-heads 2O 20.

hat we claim as newand of our invention is- 1. In a planing-machine fordividing a board into two strips and tonguing and grooving them at oneoperation, the combination of feed-rolls, the upper and lowertonguingheads 8 and 10, mounted on horizontal spindles above and belowthe path of the board through the machine, the single longplaningcylinder arranged to dress the surface of the board after it haspassed the tonguing-cutters, the vertical cutter-heads 2O 20, mountedupon each side of the path of the board and adapted to groove itsouteredges, and the saw or cutter 22, mounted upon a horizontal spindleand arranged to divide the two strips of the board longitudinallybetween their tongues in the grooves formed by the tonguingheads afterit has passed the vertical cutter-heads 20, substantially as described.

2. In a planing-machine for dividing a board into two strips andtonguing and grooving them at one operation, the combination offeed-rolls, the upper and lower tonguing cutter-heads 8 and 10, mounted011 horizontal spindles above and below the path of the board throughthe machine, the long planingcylinders 18 and 24, arranged to dress the0pposite surfaces of the board after it has passed the tonguing-cutters,the vertical cutter-heads 20-20, mounted upon each side of the path ofthe board and adapted to groove its outer edges, and the saw orcutter22, mounted upon a horizontal spindle and arranged to divide thetwo strips of the board longitudinally between their tongues in thegrooves formed by the tonguing-heads after it has passed the verticalcutter-heads 20, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a Woodplaning machine, of feed-rolls, thetonguing cutter-heads 8 and 10, mounted on horizontal spindles above andbelow the path of the board through the machine, the verticalgrooving-heads 2O 20, mounted upon each side of the path of the boardand adapted to groove its outer edges, the long planing-cylinder 24,arranged to dress the surface of the board after it leaves thetonguing-heads S and 10, the platen above the same to hold the lumberdown, and the saw or cutter 22, mounted on a horizontal spindle, havingits boxes attached to said platen. and arranged to divide the two stripsof the board longitudinally between horizontally upon said platen, andthe Vertical cutter-heads 20.20, mounted upon each side of the path ofthe board and adapted to groove its outer edges in advance of saidcutter 22, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the transverse girt a the yokes of the verticalcutter-heads 20, mounted thereon, the revolving shaft 0, passing throughsaid yokes and provided with cam 0 for clamping said yoke to the girt,the arm 52, attached to shaft 0 outside of the frame 1 of the machine,and the set-screw 51, mounted in lug on the frame and arranged to forman adj ustable stop for said arm when .the shaft is revolved,substantially as described.

SOLOMON A. WOODS- JOHN R. THOMAS. WVitnesses:

N. P. OOKINGTON, DAVID HALL RICE.

